[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 56 (Wednesday, May 10, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          NATIONAL TEACHER DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 9, 2006

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor all teachers today on 
National Teacher Day. I want to thank teachers everywhere for their 
devotion to children and a better tomorrow.
  Teachers are our greatest public servants; they spend their lives 
educating our young people and shaping our Nation for tomorrow. 
Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting 
impact in the lives of their students.
  Even as we thank our teachers for the invaluable work they do, there 
are proposals to cut funding from numerous educational programs, 
including GEAR-UP and the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling 
Program. Education should be one of our top funding priorities; talking 
about it does not help the teachers and students who desperately need 
promises fulfilled.
  An education provides today's children with valuable and necessary 
skills to lead a productive life in tomorrow's society. Education makes 
children less dependent upon others and opens doors to better jobs and 
career possibilities. Education is the silver bullet to improve this 
Nation's standing worldwide . . . and our teachers know that.
  I have supported teachers and their efforts to provide quality 
education to our children, and will always continue to do that. I 
fought for Texas teachers' Social Security benefits by advocating the 
amendment to the Teacher Social Security Protection Act that protected 
them. I have fought to protect those benefits that ensure better 
salaries for teachers across the Nation such as grants to pay off 
student loans and funding for Teach for America. Still, we must all do 
more to show our continued appreciation for our Nation's leading role 
models.
  Today, let us remember the essence of why teachers are our most 
important public servants. There is a story about a dinner conversation 
with a puffed up CEO who demeaned a teacher at the table by asking: 
``What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option 
in life was to become a teacher? What do you make?''
  The teacher smiled a contented smile, and enlightened her dinner 
companions: ``I make kids work harder than they ever thought they 
could. I make kids enjoy learning. I make them dream, wonder, question, 
criticize, apologize (and mean it) . . . I make them write, work, and 
discover. I make them responsible. I make them achieve. You want to 
know what I make? I make a difference. What was it again you make?''
  Amen . . . teachers make a difference in every single life they 
touch, and today I thank each teacher for the work they do and the 
lives they change every day.

                          ____________________